This invention relates to apparatus for drying slab gels and more particularly to such apparatus for preparing slab gels for storage and future analysis.
In the past slab gels have been dried on glass plates merely by exposing the spread slab gel to ambient air. Such a method produces a dried slab gel after considerable time which adheres to the glass plate. Distortion and cracking of the drying slab gel generally occur due to the non-uniform drying rate throughout the slab over the prolonged drying period. In an attempt to avoid distortion and fracture during dehydration a sandwich drying scheme has been utilized involving placement of the slab gel between a filter paper and some removable film. The filter paper-slab-removable film sandwich is in turn placed between a porous polyethylene sheet and a screen providing mechanical support for the assembly. On each side of the layered assembly a silicone rubber sheet is positioned, both rubber sheets having edges which extend beyond the edges of the layered assembly. The extending edges of the rubber sheets are sealed together and a tube is inserted through one rubber sheet through which a vacuum is drawn within the silicone rubber envelope. The entire sealed sandwich is emersed in boiling water to provide heat for vaporizing moisture from the slab gel while the vacuum removes the moisture from the inside of the rubber envelope until the slab gel is dehydrated. Considerable time is still necessary for slab gel dehydration utilizing the evacuated sandwich method.
Apparatus is needed for dehydrating slab gels without distortion or fracture, in a relatively short period of time and utilizing a method which is easy to perform without complex steps and complicated equipment.